Pipe cleaners



March 13, 1956 B. E. THAXTON PIPE CLEANERS Fil ed May 15, 1953 INVENTORBerna/'0 E. Thaxfon .ATTORNEY United States Patent- "ice 'Z,737,Q57.PIPE'CLEANERS .Bernard"E..Thaxton, Washington, I). C.

. Application May 15, 1953,-'SerialNo." 355,251 r ,3 Claims.c1.1s1-+24.3)

The present invention relatesto improvements in'smoking-pipe cleanersand more particularly relates to. an improved pipe cleaner utilizing airpressuresas the cleaning agent.

I .am aware 'that'heretofore air pressure has been utilized;to'clean:smoking pipes. However, in'the prior types. of pipe cleaners, the air iscontinuously supplied and so is only etfective'to a limited -extent.-Furthermore, if caking ispresent in thebottom-of apipebowl, priorair-pressure types of pipe cleaners were inadequate. .The pipe cleanersheretoforeeproposedalso have been idifficult i to handle when-used incleaning smokingpipesand performing like operations.

It istherefore aprimary object to provide-an improved smokingpipe-airipressure cleaning device which will overcome 'difiicultiesexistent with prior types of smoking pipe cleaners.

Another. object of the present invention. is to :provideanimproveddevice for cleaning smoking-pipes wherein air'pressure is thecleaning agent:an'cl=wherein' the arrangementiszsuch' that the devicecan be held inone handwhile the pipe to becleaned is held in the other,

2,737,957 Patented Mar. 13, 19 56 cross-bar inside surface hasispringfingers longitudinally spacedly carrie'dthereby so that a cleaning stickcanjbe releasably carried thereby. The cleaningstick is wire- -li-kewith one end- ,bentto providea gripping portion while the other end isadapted to be inserted through the passageway of a pipestemto breakthrough any cakingexistent at the opening tothe passageway in .thebottom of the pipe bowl. I

lnthe drawings: 7

*Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing .the cleaning device ofthe present invention;

Fig. 2 is an inlet-end elevational view of .the device;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view, partially in section, showing themanner inwhich the device ofthe presen invention is employed forcleaning a; pipe; and

Fig. '4' is a bottom planview partly in sectionshowing the relationshipbetween the airychuck of the inlet conduit'and-the inlet endofthenozzlepiecefor delivering shots of" air pressure to the outlet nozzle.

Referring more particularlyto the drawings wherein like numeralsdesignate like parts throughout, it will be seen that thesmoking pipecleaning device of the present invention is designated generally by thenumeral I 10 and is-comprised'of'a nozzle piece12, cross-barhandleelement'14, aconventional air chuck and air pressure conduit 16and cleaning-stick 18.

The nozzle piece 12 is comprised of an elongated rigid'integral tubingportion, the outlet endof which is rounded at 20-and provided-with areduced diameter openingat22. The opposing or inlet end of the nozzlepiece which is shown as internally threaded at 24iha's and yet wherebythe delivery of air pressureisddiscon- 1 tinuousand morein thenatureo'f-periodic spurts-so as. to-more etfectivly clean the: passagewaysol'fsmoking pipes.

,A further object of the present invention is*to -provide' an; improvedsmoking pipe passageway cleaning 'device which, is rigid. inconstruction, -yet lightweight arid 'eas'ily manipulatedin one ofv anoperatorsihands.

Still 'another object of the present invention is=to provide animproved; smoking pipe cleaning -device-construction which fitscomfortably in *an' operators *hand and-which is1shaped' so. that-theair del-iveryconduit may easilybe urged. against a tire valvertype ofarrangement atiftheinlet end of the=cleaning+device at:intervals bythesame hand of the operator so that-the; air-pressure can be delivered inperiodic spurts with ease and by the use of but one hand :'of..the.aoperator,.theaother hand being free to holdthepipe.

The best embodiment of my invention generally is comprised of -anelongated nozzle-piece i whichma be COHSII'LICtEdIIfIOHl a suitable.piece of tubing, the "outlet en'd being providedwith a nozzle openingwhich ispreiferably -of reduced. diameter.relative 'to -the bore in'fthetubing. ';The outlet end isroundedotr" and is shaped so as toberreceived inthe .mouthpiece receiving-recess of the pipe stem.Theinletend -of;the; nozzle piece has a tire valve type assembly thereinwith which a conventiqnal air chuck.is.cooperatively. associated, andtorwhich chuck an air hose or conduit of compressible material isconnected. Intermediately of the ends of the nozzle piece and closelyadjacent the hose coupling end thereof is an elongated cross bar ofsubstantially arcuate cross section throughout its length. The crossbaris rigidly secured to the nozzle piece and a pair of rigidifying websjoint the nozzle piece to the cross bar in a plane substantiallyperpendicular to the axis of the cross-bar. The

tor of the device.

threaded therein a substantially conventional tire valve assembly 23. Anexample 'of'the tire valveassembly that can be usedis 'shownjinljPatentNo. 1,991,974, issued to L. C.-Broecker, issued:February 19, .1935.

"The specific tire valve assembly23 is used solely'tor the-rpurpose thatit provides a convenient means for unseating the pin,-hereinafterdescribed, of the air chuck orcoupling pin, also hereinafter described.Actually, any;rigid -pinlike member disposed substantiallyconcentrically-ofthe inlet end of the nozzlepiece would serve the samefunction as the tire valve specifically shown, butsince it is relativelyeasy to-provide'for insertion of the tire valve assembly within theinlet end of'ithe nozzle piece, it is perhapspreferable'that'thisconstruction be used. I I V The cross-bar handleielement '14 which .iselongated andrigid-is -provided with a centrally located aperture 'at=26of a 'size-to'receive the nozzlepiece 12 therethrough and theelement--14 is rigidly secured in perpendicular-relation 'to -t he"nozzle piece adjacent the inlet end'24 forming a T-shape'd'sm'okingpipe: cleaner, solder or other suitable means beinger'nploye'd-forforming the 7 joint" as at 282 tions of the-cross-bar handle element at38; and 40;,the

axis of the latter element 'being substantially perp'endicu lar to theplane of the webs 30 andi32.

-The-cro'ss'-bar"handle elementhas an arcuate crosssectionasyviewed=transversely of. its axis and "thisj i n part is to provide aconvex surface- 42" adapted to'corh fortably fit against the fingers ofthe hand of the opera- The concave surface 44 has a pair of springfingers 46 and 48 longitudinally spaced and secured thereto so as toreleasably hold the cleaning stick 18, to be described hereinafter,within the confines of the cross-bar handle element.

The air chuck and delivery conduit 16 is conventional and includes acoupling head at 50 adapted to be engaged over the inlet end at 24 ofthe nozzle piece. The head 50 conventionally includes an outlet checkvalve which is opened when urged against means such as the conventionaltire valve. The hose or conduit is made of flexible, rubber-likematerial so as to be easily manually compressed and bent.

The cleaning stick 18 is formed of wire-like material and is relativelystiff and has a sufiiciently small diameter as to be received in thepassageway 52 of the pipe stem 54 through the mouth piece receivingsocket at 56 to which the usual mouth piece is removabiy attached. Thestick 18 has one end thereof arcuated so as to provide a handhold at 60,the width of which is less than the inside width of the cross-bar handleelement so as to be received therein. The shank portion of the stick 18is easily removably engaged beneath the spring fingers 46 and 48, aswill be understood.

In operation, when it is desired to clean the pipe 11, and if any cakingexists in the bottom 62 of the bowl of the pipe which would preventpassage of the air through the passageway 52 of the stem, the stick 18is employed by insertion from the mouth piece socket end of the stem soas to break up any caking at 64. Next, the stick is removed from thestern and replaced beneath the spring fingers 46 and 48. Finally, thedevice is gripped in the operators hand as shown in Fig. 3 with theconduit 16 extending from the palm of the operators hand past the upperarcuate edge 66 of the handle element 14, and with the air chuck 50engaged over the inlet end of the nozzle piece, the conduit beingconnected with a suitable source of air pressure. The outlet end 20 ofthe nozzle piece is engaged in the socket 56 of the pipe stem. The airchuck 50 is pressed against the inlet end of the nozzle piece so as tointer-engage the pins 57 and 59 -of the tire valve and air chuck,respectively (see Fig. 4) so as to unseat the tire valve and air chuckvalve and pass air through the passageway 52.

In order to more effectively employ the air pressure as a cleaningmedium, the operator periodically releases the pressure of his palmagainst the chuck so as to permit the tire valve and air chuck valve toclose thereby temporarily shutting 01f passage of air pressure. Uponrenewing pressure and opening the valves, a shot of air passes into thepipe stem, the shock of the shot of air acting to effectively performthe cleaning. The pressing and releasing operation is repeated untilcleaning is completed.

The cleaning device of the present invention may be utilized by theindividual who would utilize the air hoses provided for filling tires atgasoline stations but is particularly designed for use in tobacconistshops where a separate air supply may be provided and the assembly usedas a convenience to the customer.

While the device has been described for use in cleaning smoking pipes,it is to be realized that other uses will readily suggest themselves.

The pipe cleaner may be made of any suitable material such as fromplastic, metal, or combinations of plastic and metal.

As this invention may be embodied in several forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, the presentembodiment is therefore illustrative and not restrictive, since thescope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than bythe description preceding them, and all changes that fall within themetes and bounds of the claims or that form their functional as well asconjointly cooperative equiva lents, are therefore intended to beembraced by those claims.

I claim:

1. A smoking pipe cleaner comprising an elongated rigid integral airnozzle adapted to be engaged at one end in the mouth piece receivingrecess of a pipe stem, an elongated rigid integral cross-bar permanentlymounted on said nozzle adjacent the other end thereof and perpendicularthereto, said other end extending from said cross-bar and providing anipple adapted for coupling with a source of air pressure, and acompressible conduit adapted to be coupled with said nipple, saidcrossbar having an arcuate cross section transversely of its length forcomfortably receiving the operators fingers thereabout and to alsoreceive a portion of said conduit thereagainst so that the operator mayselectively compress the conduit against the cross-bar and interruptedlyrelease air pressure through the conduit to the nozzle for cleaning thepipe.

2. A smoking pipe cleaner comprising an elongated rigid integral airnozzle adapted to be at one end engaged in the mouth piece receivingrecess of a pipe stem, an elongated rigid integral cross-bar permanentlymounted on said nozzle adjacent the other end thereof and perpendicularthereto, said other end extending from said cross-bar and providing anipple adapted for coupling with a source of air pressure, acompressible conduit adapted to be coupled with said nipple, saidcross-bar having an arcuate cross section transversely of its length forcomfortably receiving the operators fingers thereabout and to alsoreceive a portion of said conduit thereagainst so that the operator mayselectively compress the conduit against the cross-bar and interruptedlyrelease air pressure through the conduit to the nozzle for cleaning thepipe, and a cleaning stick adapted to be used for initially breakingthrough any caking existent at the opening to the passageway in thebottom of the bowl of the pipe, said cross-bar having spaced springfingers on its inside surface for releasably holding said cleaningstick.

3. A smoking pipe cleaner comprising an elongate air nozzle adapted tobe engaged at one end in the mouth piece receiving recess of a pipestem, and an elongate cross-bar secured to said air nozzle adjacent theother end thereof, said other end of the air nozzle extending from saidcross-bar and providing a nipple adapted for coupling with acompressible conduit leading to a source of air pressure, and saidcross-bar having an end portion thereof provided with a concave surfaceopening toward said nipple to receive a portion of the conduitthereagainst so that the operator may selectively compress the conduitagainst the cross-bar and interruptedly release air pressure through theconduit to the nozzle for cleaning the pipe.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS394,366 Jackson Dec. 11, 1888 608,172 Botulinski Aug. 2, 1898 1,546,251Possons July 14, 1925 1,560,903 Eiche Nov. 10, 1925 1,562,921 SewellNov. 24, 1925 2,190,192 Raymond Feb. 13, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS 21,141Great Britain of 1911

